Overall
Goal of Community Action
Community
Action changes people's lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves
communities, and makes America a better place to live.5
It’s care about the entire community and dedication to helping
people help themselves and each other.
It’s aimed towards helping people become self-sufficient
and independent of any public or charitable assistance.6
The eight goals outlined in
the Community Service Block grant (CSBG) statute address different
causes of poverty, and, since each family is likely to be affected
by more than one of these, the purposes of the CSBG in part determine
the type of coordinating role that Community Action Agencies play.
The statutory goals are:
-
Securing
and Maintaining Employment
-
Securing
Adequate Education
-
Better
Income Management
-
Securing
Adequate Housing
-
Providing
Emergency Services
-
Improving
Nutrition
-
Creating
Linkages Among Anti-Poverty Programs
-
Achieving
Self-Sufficiency6
Why
Community Action Works...
Community Action Agencies (CAAs) promote self-sufficiency, not dependency. Among
their three key assets are:
FLEXIBILTY - The
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), which supplies the core CAA
funding, is unique; it is flexible, and it primarily funds local investments
in services, facilities and partnerships which are particular to the
CAA's home community. By adding to and altering
government programs' "one-size-fits-all" programming, a
community can provide its low-income members the right mix of assistance,
encouragement, and incentives to become self-sufficient.
IMMEDIACY - CAAs are located in the areas of greatest need, managed and
staffed by community residents and often open far into the evening.
Therefore, when a family or an individual faces a crisis, their CAA
is able to respond quickly with targeted forms of assistance appropriate
to the situation; these may well include the mobilization of help
from many of the CAA's private sector partners,
volunteers, and faith-based groups.
The goal is to promptly stabilize
a family, and thus avoid the long-term consequence of costly dependency.
However, Community Action also has the capability to sustain long-term
involvement in a family's progress to self-sufficiency, as well as
in the development of the low-income community.
COORDINATION - A
bedrock principle of Community Action is that resources of all kinds
need to be integrated so they can be used in combination to solve
community and individual problems. CAAs
manage more than $5.6 billion in public and private resources annually,
serving more than 9.3 million low-income persons; the CSBG-funded
staff goes into the community and to other government sources to bring
in not only leveraged funds but also hundreds of thousands of local
volunteers.
4
What is a Community Action Agency?
Community
Action Agencies are private non-profit or public organizations whose
development was encouraged by the federal government in 1964 to combat
poverty in their local communities. Their goal is to involve all sectors
of the community, elected public officials, public sector representatives,
and low-income residents to assess local needs, develop plans to attack
the causes and conditions of poverty, and to implement locally designed
and controlled solutions.5
Why
are Community Action Agencies Unique?
A Community Action Agency (CAA)
reaches out to low-income people in their communities and addresses
their multiple needs through a comprehensive approach. In order to
do this, they develop partnerships with other community organizations,
involve low-income clients in the agency's operations and administer
a full range of coordinated programs designed to have a measurable
impact on poverty. These programs are locally designed, locally controlled
and locally implemented to meet the specific needs of each community.
No two CAAs are exactly alike because each
is governed by the leadership and specific needs of its local community.
But despite this fact, there
is a typical CAA approach to fighting the causes of poverty. Local
agencies approach these goals by offering a variety of programs that
serve low-income children, families, and seniors. They coordinate
emergency assistance, provide weatherization services, sponsor youth
programs, operate senior centers and provide transportation in rural
areas. CAAs provide linkages to job training
opportunities, GED preparation courses, and vocational education programs.
They provide a range of services addressing poverty-related problems--
from income management and credit counseling to entrepreneurial development
and small business incubators; from domestic violence crisis assistance
to family development programs and parenting classes; from food pantries
and emergency shelters to low-income housing development and community
revitalization projects.
Here’s a listing of some
unique characteristics of Community Action Agencies:
·
BOARD STRUCTURE - CAAs are required to have a board consisting of equal parts
of local: private sector, public sector, and low-income community
representatives. This structure brings together community leaders
from each of these groups to collaborate on developing responses to
local needs.
·
VOLUNTEER SUPPORT - The CAA network
is one of the largest users of volunteer services in the country.
In 1998, CAAs reported that volunteers contributed
more than 27 million hours of service, equivalent to more than 13,000
full time employees.
·
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS – Community Service
Block Grant (CSBG) funds give CAAs the flexibility
to design programs that address needs specific to individuals and
the local community and to identify specialized resources that fit
these needs.
·
LOW ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS - CAAs have very low administrative overhead costs (on average,
between 7 and 12 percent). Resources are invested directly in
the community and families, not in bureaucracy.
·
COMPREHENSIVE AND RESPONSIVE - CAAs respond quickly when a family or individual is in crisis
to avoid costly long-term problems. The highest priority is
placed on helping people achieve permanent self-sufficiency.
In addition to emergency assistance, a major portion of CSBG expenditures
is for coordination among various programs. Integrated service
delivery is tailored to individual circumstances.
·
COMMUNITY AND FAMILY PROGRAMS - CAAs provide services that address the full range of family
needs -- from Head Start and other education and child development
programs, to youth and adult employment and training, to services
for seniors and the frail elderly. Other CAA programs are designed
to strengthen the local economy and develop the community's infrastructure
under the guidance of community leaders. 7
1. Source: Internet: The American Presidency
Directory: http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/aae/side/waronp.html
2. Source: Internet: Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and
Museum
Directory: http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/speeches.hom/640108.asp
3. Source: Internet: Modern History Sourcebook
Directory: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1964johnson-warpoverty.html
4. Source: Internet: The National Community Action Foundation
Directory: http://www.ncaf.org/wiw.html
5. Source: Internet: The Community Action Association of
Pennsylvania
Directory: http://www.thecaap.org
6. Source: Internet: The National Community Action Foundation
Directory: http://www.ncaf.org/cacaa.html
7. Source: Internet: the National Community Action Foundation
Directory: http://www.ncaf.org/eua.html
